Partial Solar Eclipse at Sunset – Sabaudia, 12 August 2026

Key Event Data

Event: Partial Solar Eclipse
Date: 12 August 2026
Location: Sabaudia, Lazio, Italy
Global event: Total Solar Eclipse
Local visibility: Partial eclipse
Beginning of the eclipse: approximately 19:33 local time
Sunset: approximately 20:11 local time
Setting: western horizon over the Tyrrhenian Sea
Saros series: 126

Description

On the evening of 12 August 2026, a partial solar eclipse accompanied sunset over the Tyrrhenian Sea at Sabaudia, on the coast of Lazio in central Italy.

Although the eclipse was total along a narrow path crossing the North Atlantic and parts of Spain, Sabaudia lay outside the path of totality. From this location, the Moon covered only part of the solar disc before the Sun disappeared below the western horizon. (Time and Date)

The photograph captures the eclipsed Sun only moments before sunset. The dark silhouette of the Moon cuts deeply into the solar disc, while horizontal layers of cloud divide the remaining sunlight into an unusual crescent-like shape.

The very low altitude of the Sun gives the scene its intense red and orange tones, while its reflection forms a narrow luminous path across the surface of the sea.

In this image, the astronomical event and the landscape are inseparable: the Moon, Sun, Earth's atmosphere and Tyrrhenian Sea all contribute to the final scene.

An Eclipse Interrupted by the Horizon

From Sabaudia, timing was everything.

The partial eclipse began at approximately 19:33, only about 38 minutes before sunset. The Sun therefore descended toward the sea while the fraction covered by the Moon was still increasing. (Time and Date)

This means that observers in Sabaudia did not see the eclipse reach its geometrical maximum above the horizon. Instead, the Sun set while still eclipsed — making the horizon itself the end of the observation.

That circumstance is precisely what makes this photograph distinctive. It does not simply record a partial solar eclipse; it captures an eclipse and a Mediterranean sunset occurring simultaneously.

E terrei poi le sezioni The Moon in Front of the Sun, Clouds as Part of the Scene, A Brief Alignment, Curiosities e A Photograph of Three Worlds della versione precedente, eliminando invece tutta la parte sulla totalità in Spagna che qui distoglie dal soggetto.

Inoltre cambierei decisamente l'ultima frase in:

On 12 August 2026, from the coast of Sabaudia, the Sun disappeared below the Tyrrhenian horizon before the Moon had finished crossing its disc — turning the final phase of the eclipse into an eclipsed sunset.